Unfortunately, during today’s 5 hour downtime, we were not able to finish all planned data center maintenance procedures, and we plan to finish them on March 5th between the hours of 2:00 AM and 7:00 EST, so, there might be additional downtime. Again, sorry for any inconvenience.

Croatia

Westernmost point of Croatia is cape Savudrija and the settlement of Savudrija. After roaming Slovenian part of the seaside on our return to Croatia we decided to pay visit to this almost isolated small dot on the map.

Savudrija, built in 1818 is the oldest Adriatic lighthouse. It is also the northernmost Croatian lighthouse located near the Slovenian border. It is situated at a cape bearing the same name, 30 m from the sea, in the middle of a tourist zone, surrounded by hotels, restaurants and beaches.

The lighthouse is 9 km from Umag and 56 km from Trieste. It is well connected and can be reached by car. The lighthouse has a garden with Mediterranian vegetation surrounded by a high fence and a parking lot. The house itself has one 4-bed apartment. Supplies are readily available.

Thanks to its position, this lighthouse is particularly attractive for wind surfing.

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Climbing of Hahlic is beautiful because it takes you across the open grassy plateau from which throughout your climbing, there is a magnificent view of Kvarner and its islands and Mudna dol, deeply cut in the mountain.

We went there without really idea what to expect (not prepared should be read), but it was really nice.

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Legend says long time ago sister of Conte Draskovic used to walk and ride horse during this promenade. The promenade itself is in not good shape these days, but nevertheless people tend to keep it clean from time to time. During early February I took a walk and made few pictures.

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Gorski Kotar (Croatia) is a large mountainous and rocky region in between the coast of Kvarner and the valley of Lake Kupe which runs along the border between Slovenia and Croatia. Skrad has a very favourable location, offering a nice view on the Kupa valley, the nearby mountain peaks, Slovenian mountains, which makes it a good starting point for shorter and longer hiking tours. A special attraction are two natural phenomena in the immediate vicinity of the town: Zeleni Vir (Green Whirl) and Vrazji Prolaz (Devil's Passage).

Album was created 9 years 5 months ago and modified 9 years 5 months ago

One reason why the Croatian coastline is so beautiful is that it contains more than one thousand dazzling islands.

Cres is the second largest island in the Adriatic, covering 155 square miles. Together with Losinj and another 28 smaller islands in the group, it covers an area of 193 square miles (513 square km), making it the largest group and equating to 16% of the total surface area of all the Adriatic islands. Both islands are accessible by ferry.

The island of Silba, situated southeast of Losinj ih the midst of the luxuriant mosaic of the Zadar archipelago, is known to have been inhabited in the Roman times. It was first mentioned in the 10th century under the name of Selbo (originating from Latin silva - wood) by Constatine Porphyry.

Album was created 9 years 5 months ago and modified 9 years 5 months ago

Istria is the westernmost region of Croatia. It is also the largest peninsula on the Adriatic Coast. The average annual hours of sunshine on the Istrian Peninsula is 2,380. The smallest town is Hum. Hum is also the smallest town in the world. Together with its numerous bays, peninsulas and islands the Istrian coastline is 537 km long. Owing to its indentedness and large number of islands, the length of the west coast is 327 km, whereas the total length of the east coast is 212 km. It is not hard to guess why this is most desirable tourist destination and why there are so many photos of Istria available. This photos will show you some less known spots during the tour I did with my best friend in Croatia.

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In the central part of croatian Adriatic Sea, about 15 Nm to the west from Sibenik town, 7 Nm to the southwest from Murter, or 15 Nm to the south from Zadar town, there is amazing group of islands named Kornati archipelago.

Beauty and singularity of the archipelago moved authorities in 1980 to proclaim a bigger part of that area national park. Since then certain modifications of its borders were made, so that nowadays Kornati National Park occupies the area of about 220 km2 (54.000 acres). There are 89 islands, islets and reefs within the area of Kornati National Park (238 km of the coastline), what makes it the most indented group of islands in the Mediterranean.

The land part of Kornati National Park covers less than 1/4 of its total area, but the values of its landscapes, the "crowns" (cliffs) on the islands facing the open sea, and interesting relief structures, make this part of Kornati National Park unique. Besides, the Kornati submarine area, whose biocenosis are considered to be the richest in the Adriatic Sea, and also the magnificent geomorphology of the sea bed attracts divers from all over Europe to come and enjoy in unforgettable submarine adventures.

Titles and description below picture are not related to picture content itself.

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Built in phases, this path stretches from Preluk to Lovran and its total length is approximately 12 kilometers. The initiator of the operation was the Scenic Improvement Society and the conductors of the works were Heinrich Gintl, Alfred Manussi and Konrad Rubbia. They were confronted with great land Lungomare (Seaside Promenade) purchasing problems and countless disputes had to be settled through the authority of Jettmar, the county captain. The first, northern phase of the path (Volosko-Slatina) was completed in 1889, when Opatija officially becomes a Health Resort (the stretch from Drazice to the port was finished around 1888), and the southernmost section (that connected Opatija with the promenade in Lovran) only around 1911, thanks to the commitment of physician Julius Hortenau. Planned as an important trump card for health tourism, this path, together with the parallel woodland path in the town’s hinterland (today’s Carmen Sylva Promenade) is a potential of psychophysical recreation that is indeed insufficiently exploited. One of the highest points above sea level is the Grotta del Diavolo (Teufelsbrunnen) near the residence of the consul of Venezuela. Promenade passes through all major villages on that path.

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The island of Murter is the largest island of Sibenik archipelago and the home island of all Kornati. Jezera is a fishing place on the island of Murter, only 3km far from the mainland as in Tisno there is a bridge that connects it with the Adriatic tourist road. It was named after the small lakes that appear during autumn and winter because of the rains that fill little lime stone valleys. As soon as the first sun rays appear, these lakes disappear!

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Tisno is the most authentic place on Murter island where it is still possible to find the old stone houses and typical Dalmatian narrow streets or some original "konoba" with good wine, salty fish and Dalmatian smoked ham. Learn more about this place, its past, present and future throughout this gallery with descriptions under each picture.

Tisno was named after the narrow straits dividing island from the mainland (Croatian word tisno means strait). Village is situated at the point where the island of Murter almost touches the land with which it is connected by a bascule bridge.

Album was created 7 years 8 months ago and modified 7 years 8 months ago

The Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia's most popular tourist attraction, was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1979. Located roughly halfway between capital city Zagreb and Zadar on the coast, the lakes are definitely a must-see.

The beauty of the National Park lies in its sixteen lakes, inter-connected by a series of waterfalls, and set in deep woodland populated by deer, bears, wolves, boars and rare bird species. The National Park covers a total area of 300 square kilometres, whilst the lakes join together over a distance of eight kilometres. There's also quite an altitude difference - the highest point is at 1280m, the lowest at 380m - although the total height difference between the lakes themselves is only 135m. (Veliki Slap, the largest waterfall, is 70m tall.)

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The town of Rijeka is an important business, trade, industrial and cultural center in the western part of the Republic of Croatia. It is located on the Adriatic, at a point where the sea has made its deepest incision into the European continent. Due to its natural and geo-political characteristics the area is ideally situated for harbour and shipping center development.

Being connected with the entire central Europe via Zagreb, Rijeka has become one of the leading harbours on the Mediterranean sea. The port of Rijeka has a long maritime history and has been utilized as a cargo transit port since ancient times, linking middle Europe with numerous countries throughout the world. The annual turnover is some 20 million tons of miscellaneous cargo. The harbour has good communications with the hinterland and substantial working and warehousing capacity in the area of more than 1 500 000 m2, furnished with modern transport facilities.

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Rjecina (Italian: Fiumara) is a river in Croatia which flows in the Adriatic sea in the city of Rijeka (Fiume). Rijeka means river in Croatian.

It is cca 19 km long, with average width of 9 - 16 m. It springs from the cave on the height of 325m above sea level, under high cliff of Kicej hill (606 m above sea level). Until 1870. the river's spring was under the next by hill called Podjavorje, but it collapsed in earthquake near village Klana. In 1968., a dam was built for the needs of hydroelectric power plant, and lake Valici came to existence, but the same name village seized to exsist. Rjecina flows through the canyon almost half of her lengh. In Rijeka, the river branches in two parts: Mrtvi kanal (the old basin) and the new canal which was made in 19th century when Mrtvi kanal was used as a harbour. Of sights, the most famous is Gaspar's watermill (Gasparov mlin) which was renewed in 90s. Of fauna the most noticeable are trouts and river crabs.

Until WW II the river was many times imposed as a border between Croatia (Yugoslavia) and part of Croatia taken by Italy.

This gallery shows walking path from Rijeka center to the river itself.

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Samobor region was inhabited from the ancient times. The oldest artifacts found originate from The Stone Age - stone ax, hammer and knife. Much richer are the remnants from Bronze Age, Iron Age and from the age of Roman reign. These parts were populated by Illyrian tribe of Iapodes.

The oldest written evidence of Samobor is The Charter of Bela IV, Croatian-Hungarian king. With this document, after the war with the Tartars, the king acknowledged the privileges given to Samoborians by Archduke Koloman two years earlier. The place of Samobor was thus elevated to the status of "free royal chartered marketplace", with the right of advowson (choosing the priest), electing the judge and administration of justice including the "right of sword" (ius gladii), e.g. the capital punishment. Samobor had no other lords except its own citizens, and paid taxes only to the king.

Around years 1261-1271 The Samobor Castle was build on the hill above the town. It was built by supporters of Bohemian king Otokar Přemisl II in the war over Babenberg heritage. In the year 1274 the castle was taken over by duke Ivan Okićki. The owners of the castle changed often, but they all respected the privileges given by Bela IV, until by mistake in the year 1488 Barbara Frankopan was introduced as the owner of not only the castle but the place itself. The struggle for justice and old privileges lasted for three hundred years and was finally ended by the end of 18 century. Until that time the castle deteriorated to such extent that the owners deserted it. Finally Samobor bought the ruins in 1902.

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Trakoscan is a legendary 13th-century Gothic castle that was home to various influential families for centuries before finally falling into abandoned disrepair in the second half of the 18th century when it belonged to the Draskovic family. In the 1950s the castle was taken over by the state and turned into a living museum, reconstructing life in a medieval castle. Visitors can explore four levels, including the dungeon, and finish their exploration by enjoying the surrounding parklands.

Album was created 9 years 5 months ago and modified 9 years 5 months ago

The Zoological Garden Zagreb has been in existence since summer 1925. Founded by Mijo pl. Filipovic. on what is today the first island in the forest of Maksimir, it had only three owls and three foxes but, thanks to the help of the citizens and other zoos, the number of animals gradually increased so that in the year 1971 it had 159 animal species and 609 individuals. Animals you see will depend on year season of course.

Learn to care for environment and life around you by being a protector or sponsor of one or more animals in ZOO. Make sure to raise your voice and make sure your children and people around you understand Zoos are not here for displaying animals and collecting our money, but rather preserving threaten species and learning children about life around us.

If you wish to learn more about animals seen here visit virtual zoo available at This is also main reason why I decided not to name animals after their names in this gallery.

Album was created 8 years 3 months ago and modified 8 years 3 months ago